National news on VET

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The new dual learning (apprenticeship) system, focuses on innovation, digitalisation and (international) cooperation through different projects. The winners of the IdeaalDuaal competition are five apps in support of dual learning in Flanders.

Cross-border apprenticeship is a concrete example of the European principle of free circulation, which opens up new chances and prospects for young people to broaden their professional and educational horizon, while helping to fight skill shortages. Luxembourg, France and Germany have recently been reinforcing cross-border apprenticeship by concluding bilateral agreements.

The State budget proposal for 2019, submitted to the Icelandic Parliament on 11 September, included several measures concerning VET-related issues, including a possible budget increase that would improve the potential of the ‘workplace training fund’ (Vinnustaðanámssjóður).

In an analysis of further education and training expenditure by Education Training Boards, the Irish Government Economic & Evaluation Service noted that, given the characteristics of the labour market and low basic skills among certain cohorts of unemployed people, it is necessary to equip individuals with the foundations to pursue more specific programmes and meet important education and social objectives. In this capacity, the Galway City Community Training Centre (CTC) (Galway CTC) aims to provide learners with basic skills to progress further in the labour market.

Over 80 partner and national representatives from ReferNet’s 30 countries took part in the Cedefop network’s 16th annual plenary meeting, a European vocational skills week event, in Thessaloniki from 21 to 23 November.

The government is increasingly focusing on vocational education in an effort to update it. A new structure for vocational subjects in upper secondary schools will be introduced in the autumn of 2020; this will be the biggest change in VET since 2006.

Vocational colleges still face problems with recruitment and low completion rates. Important factors are the lack of focus in municipalities responsible for primary education, and the lower status and negative social value attributed to vocational education by parents and young people. Further, vocational institutions saw a decline of financial resources due to falling numbers of students, while cutting short education affects opportunities to develop and create new and more attractive learning environments.